Texas A&M’s Defense Will Have a Handful Against Auburn

In the first College Football Playoff rankings of the year, the Auburn Tigers came in at No. 14. They are 6-2 this year, and 5-1 overall, but if they can win out, they will have a shot to be in the College Football Playoff. That starts this week, when they will take on Texas A&M at noon on ESPN.

Texas A&M Defense

After giving up 228 rushing yards and 35 points against Mississippi State team last week, A&M will go up against an even better offense.

Auburn Stats in SEC Play

• 43.8 points per game, 2nd in SEC
• 273.4 rushing yards per game, 3rd in SEC
• 234 passing yards per game, 3rd in SEC
• 507.4 yards per game, 2nd in SEC
• 47.2 third down conversion rate, 2nd in SEC

Kerryon Johnson has 587 rushing yards in five SEC games. He will cause fits for the Texas A&M defensive line. He also has 13 rushing yards on the year, the most in the SEC. The next highest has seven.

14th rush TD of the year already for Kerryon Johnson #devy pic.twitter.com/asLUqgwzMy

— Greg Brandt (@devywarehouse) October 22, 2017

Texas A&M Offense

Texas A&M looks to get its offense back on track after a poor showing against Mississippi State. They are led by quarterback Kellen Mond, who has struggled to be consistent this year. The A&M offense is best when he is moving out of the pocket and on the run.

When Kellen Mond has over 35 rushing yards, the Aggies are 3-0 in the SEC. When he has under 35 rushing yards, they are 0-2 in the SEC.

Still don't know how Kellen Mond escaped a sack on this run vs. Bama. If he hangs on to the ball, it's a first down near midfield. pic.twitter.com/emzUDY03zF

— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) October 11, 2017

If Mond could extend some plays early and make Auburn put emphasis on the run, it should open up the passing game for A&M, a place where Auburn has struggled.

Auburn is 10th in the SEC in passing yards allowed and only have three interceptions this season.

Spread and Over/Under

Courtesy of Bovada: Auburn -15, O/U 52 points

Looking Ahead

After playing A&M, Auburn will finish the regular season with three home games. Two of them will be against the top two teams in the country, Georgia and Alabama. If they can beat both of them, Auburn will have to be a serious contender for the CFP, even though they already have two losses.

Texas A&M will have a home game against New Mexico next week, then finish with road games at Ole Miss and LSU.